Chronological Order of Bob Lee Swagger Books

The reading order of the Bob Lee Swagger books is the same as the publication order. Time to Hunt features flashbacks to Bob Lee’s time during the war, however it is still recommended you read that after Black Light.As an additional note, it’s recommended that you read Dirty White Boys after Point of Impact and before Black Light. While Bob Lee isn’t in Dirty White Boys, numerous characters are that also appear in Black Light, and it’s a lot better knowing their backstory.There are also three books featuring Earl Swagger. Although not necessary, you may want to read those books prior to starting the Bob Lee books. There will be no spoilers in those books and also not too much foreshadowing; the books generally standalone from the Bob Lee series despite the family connection.

Bob Lee Swagger Biograpy:

Also referred to as “Bob the Nailer”, Bob Lee Swagger is a character that has been fictionalized andwhose creation was done by Stephen Hunter. Bob is the main character of a set of books that are in relation to his life during and after the Vietnam War. These are books such as “Black Light”, “I, Sniper”, “Point of Impact”, “Dead Zero”,”The 47th Samurai”, “Time to Hunt” and “The Third Bullet” which is the most recent. He has also featured in the film referred to as “Shooter” (that is based on the book “Point of Impact”) as the protagonist. Bob is in a loose manner based on United States Marine Corps (USMC) Sniper named Carlos Hathcock.

Fictional character biography

Bob was a Marine Sergeant and is retired. He was born in the year 1946 and brought up in Blue Eye which is a fiction oriented version of Mena in Arkansas. His father is the Arkansas State Trooper and is called Earl Swagger. Earl also served as Marine Sergeant. In addition to that, he received a Medal of Honor. Bob’s mother is June Swagger. Important to note is the fact that Bob Lee had naturally been gifted for firearms since his childhood, something that seems to be possessed by all the male Swaggers. Bob had a half-brother, known as Lamar Pye, who was conceived as a result of involvement in a one night stand between Earl Swagger and a lady by the name Eddie White Pye.

After the death of his father in the year 1955, Bob Swagger joined the Marines and eventually forged a fulfilling career as Sniper in the marines. He offered service by touring three times in Vietnam and having to work with Special Operations where he earned his nickname “Bob the Nailer” for his unmatched ability with firearms. Despite being credited with 87 combat kills by the official counts, in real terms he did the killing of 391 people . His most significant success being the engagement with a North Vietnamese Army battalion who were closing an attack on a Special Forces Base that was lightly defended. Bob Swagger and his spotter who is Donny Fenn achieved success in making the battalion delay for a period of two days to allow the arrival of air support. During that particular engagement Bob killed over 80 enemy troops and only stopped at the time he ran out of bullets.

Unfortunately, while Swagger was in service in Vietnam he got shot at the hip by a Soviet sniper known as T. Solaratov. The Soviet sniper also killed Fenn moments later by a shot in the chest from about 1400 meters which was the same distance from which Bob was shot.

Bob Swagger retired from the Marine in 1975 upon suffering from permanent disability as a result of the wound he got at the hip. He ended up becoming an alcoholic so that he could numb his depression and this resulted in the separation with his second wife Susan. He retreated to the family land that was located near Blue Eye in a hermetic existence. Since he was forced to swear not to kill, he practices hunting of trophy deer whereby he makes use of an innovative projectile bullet that is non-lethal and thereby stunning the deer for a couple of minutes and during that time he ensures that he saws their antlers off so that they do not appear attractive to the trophy hunters.

The events that take place in”Point of Impact” start in the year 1992 when clandestine organization approaches him to participate in the prevention of the assassination attempt of the President by a sniper that was highly trained. He is told that this is sniper is the one who shot him and killed his spotter Fenn. Upon the killing of a visitor who was dignitary from a place called Salvador, Bob Swagger is framed as the killer (lone gunman). With assistance from Nick Memphis (an FBI agent that was assigned to that case), his father Earl Swagger’s old friend and his attorney Sam Vincent, Bob Swagger succeeds in clearing his name and eventually destroys those who framed him.

He proceeds to get married to Fenn’s widow, they get blessed with a daughter who they name Nikki Swagger. Whereby In “Black Light”, Bob unravels the conspiracy behind the killing Earl Swagger by a presidential candidate who was prominent.

“Time to Hunt”, engages Bob in finding a solution to the mystery of the death Fenn and this culminates into a one on one fight with Solaratov. This particular novel also partly depicts Bob’s participation in the war in Vietnam.

The fourth Bob Swagger book is “The 47th Samurai”, whose publication was done in the year 2007. In this particular novel Bob travels to Japan with a mission return a sword that was recovered by his late father Earl Swagger in World War two to the rightful owner, unfortunately he finds himself entangled in yet another plot that was fatal. The novel unveils his father’s Iwo Jima tour of duty.

“Night of Thunder” which is the fifth novel was published in 2008. Bob Swagger is 63 years old at this time and he is trying to figure out who was involved in the running out of his 24 year old daughter Nikki Swagger off the road targeting her life. The setting is NASCAR country and the centering is on the Bristol big race, re-appearances by the Grumleys from the Hunter’s “Hot Springs” are made in this book. Swagger once again finds himself hunting down the hunters and even at his old age is still able to shoot straight and fast enough.

In the sixth book, “I, Sniper” which was published in the year 2009, the FBI enlists Bob’s assistance in the investigation of a number of prominent Vietnam War protesters in the 1960s.

The seventh Bob Swagger book is “Dead Zero” and was released in December 28th 2010 and the setting is the global war that is ongoing on terrorism. In this book Bob moves from being simply action hero to a detective and strategist.

“The Third Bullet” entails Bob making attempts in unraveling President Kennedy assassination mystery from the point of view of a sniper and makes use of his unique set of skills to question a number of actual details contained in the Warren Commission.

Shooter
“Point of Impact” forms foundation for the film “Shooter”, that stars “Mark Wahlberg” asSwagger. This film has a present day setting.

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Clive Cussler started working as a copywriter for an advertising industry after his discharge from the military. Later he became the creative director of two successful advertising agencies. He was assigned to produce radio and television commercials and was also given a reward at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival for many of his commercials.